Nothing makes the day go slower than a full schedule of staff meetings. Unless you've just received a package of cheeses to taste, and you can't do anything about it until the day is over. Then each minute feels like a minor eternity. So you can imagine my relief when my last meeting was over and it was finally time to get on to the real business of the day: tasting the three cheeses from Jasper Hill.

Hello Culture readers! I'm Danielle, and I have the pleasure of being a 2012 Birth of a Cheese taste tester. Getting free, delicious cheese shipped directly to me from one of America's most highly regarded creameries is about the best thing that can happen in my book. And then I get to blab on and on about it to the world? Perfect.

I am the executive chef of a club at a military base in Texas. My husband, and co-taster, is also a chef and runs the kitchen of a catering company in Austin. Needless to say, we cook, eat, and talk a lot of food. But cheese holds a special place in my heart - I think it's alchemy is magical, and I am beginning to learn how to make it at home.

Scientists appreciate experiments...and well, we’re scientists. Food scientists, to be precise, at Cornell, studying dairy chemistry (Steve) and foodborne pathogens (Daina). So when we realized we were examining the results of a Jasper Hill experiment, we were excited. Three almost identical wedges arrived, challenging our powers of discrimination with subtle differences. Surely, just a variable or two were tweaked in the process of crafting a new cheese.

Probably the most spectacular aspect of this mystery Alpine style was its natural, bright orange rind, already described by others. You’d expect that color from a softer washed rind cheese, but on a hard aged cheese?! Mindblowing. The rind definitely had the funk of a washed rind cheese but quickly faded into a mild, creamy paste. We could have used a little more funk in the center, and like many of the other tasters have already shared, we thought they were all too bland.

Geeking out

I’m Jackie and I live on a small farm in Western Pennsylvania where I raise old-fashioned Milking Devon cattle. This farm evolved from my frustration with America’s industrialized food system. Auburn Meadow Farm is a living experiment in sustainability and humility. And deliciousness.

The farm is in a rural community called West Middlesex, a little over one hour north-west of Pittsburgh. It’s a Walmart sort of town, but our more upscale local grocery chain attempts a fine cheese case. You have to check regularly, as sometimes there are random treasures, but most of the time, the cheeses are safe, pre-cut & wrapped and completely misunderstood by their caretakers.

Hello, everyone. My name is Anne, and I’m a freelance writer based in Chicago. I’ve been writing about food and wine, restaurants, performing arts, culture, and travel for longer than I care to admit.

Hi, I'm John from Maryland.

Was it a premature birth? I was really pleased to find out that I was selected as one of the cheese tasters for Jasper Hill's new cheese. Received the cheese this past weekend and first impression upon opening the box was WOW, three large wedges and such nice color and unusual rind, but each
piece looked pretty much the same except maybe for wedge size.

My wife and I thought, well maybe they are aged differently.

Hello! I'm Emily, a seventh grader from Los Angeles. I admit, I am probably the least experienced of the group, but a chance to try new and exciting cheeses just can't be ignored, no matter what your age or experience level. I am a teeny bit kooky, a twin, a bleu cheese lover, a bad cook, a fairly good writer, and now an official teenager.

So let's get right down to it... last night I opened three cheeses from Jasper Hill. Each came wrapped in brown paper so aside from the rough shape, all of us receiving these new cheeses had no idea what to expect.

First Impressions

What greeted us were three samples, each obviously the same cheese yet... not... exactly.

Hi everybody! My name is Chris and I write the Artisan & Farmstead cheese blog Wedge in the Round: http://wedgeintheround.com/

Someday I hope to own my own shop. For now I eat, write, eat, eat and write a little then eat more cheese. I enjoy shooting pics of cheese, food and wine in general.

I'll be blogging my impressions of Jasper Hill's new cheese here at Culture. I cannot say thank you enough to Culture and Jasper Hill for selecting me to be a tester this year.

Three generous wedges arrived yesterday and I'm about to dive in for the first time. I'll let you know my first impressions soon.

Cheers!

Chris

Tomorrow, May 1st, is your last day to apply for the 2012 Birth of a Cheese event, and we're throwing open the doors to all comers.

To apply to become a taster for Jasper Hill's latest locally-sourced, sustainable Alpine cheese, just go to our application and tell us in 200 words or less why you're the one we want.

Jasper Hill wants this project to help build a sustainable local food economy for Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, and we're proud to involve everyone in our community by opening the application process to everyone. So don't wait, apply now!